Fiji pageant winner loses crown over her looks

A newly crowned beauty queen in Fiji, who sparked outrage because of her mixed heritage, was asked to give up her title because of her age, not her race, according to pageant officials, yahoo.com is reporting.

Torika Watters, 16, was chosen to represent Fiji in the Miss World contest last month. … But after Watters won the title, she faced heavy backlash because of her mixed European/Fijian descent, and some said she did not look Fijian enough.

Watters had to step down because she did not meet the minimum age requirement of 17, Miss World Fiji pageant director Andhy Blake told the Fiji Times. Koini Vakaloloma, 24, the first runner-up, will take her place in the finals in Inner Mongolia.